Prof Guglielmo Costa, from the University of Bologna, has been awarded for the scientific achievements of his researcher activity. The prize has been given at the International Horticultural Congress of Istanbul, that took place in Turkey, at which the Professor participated from the 13th to the 18th of August.
The ISHS plenary Congress is organised every four years. By proposals from international peers, the awards are assigned to the researchers that stood out for their achievements. Prof Costa has been awarded the ISHS fellow award in recognition of his outstanding contribution to horticultural science worldwide. The award ceremony took place during the society general conference.
Among the many activities, Prof Costa is reported as one of the fathers of the yellow kiwi AC1536*. The variety known by the Dorì brand was obtained by the Department of Agricultural Science of Bologna through an evaluation of a hybrid made by a research team of the University of Udine. The selection has been developed within the experimental fields of Cadriano (Bo), supervised by Gugliemo Costa’s research team.
Costa said, “This is a real pleasure, that the international scientific community gave me this award. There were many researchers at the Congress since it is an international event. It took place in Italy, more precisely in Florence, many years ago (1990, e.d.). The next one will happen in France in 2022."
This award also celebrates the ability to create innovation. “I have heard talk of innovation way too often. We as researchers must have the skill to handle disappointments before we actually get positive results. Then, we need ideas and projects that are not only theoretically, but also practically useful. Innovation must be executed and affordable. As of now, for instance, the ripening detectors work splendidly and are definitely affordable.
Costa has clear ideas about the relationship between companies and University, “Nowadays, there are companies that have a very good research sector, but collaboration can bring better results. Generally, there is collaboration, but we can do much more. Companies can look at the Universities as the ideal partners for retrospective researches, especially for the basic ones.”